Colts Part Ways with Five Players, Including Nine-Year
Veteran Punter
INDIANAPOLIS - Throughout the off-season, Colts President Bill Polian and Head Coach Tony Dungy each bemoaned the inevitable pre-training camp release of several players.
On Monday, the inevitable came.
The Colts, in an effort to reduce their roster toward the 80-player limit mandated by a new NFL rule, terminated the contract of one veteran player and waived four others, the club announced on Monday.
The Colts terminated the contract of punter Chad Stanley, a nine-year NFL veteran who has spent time with the San Francisco 49ers, the Arizona Cardinals and the Houston Texans. Stanley signed with the Colts on January 23, 2008.
The Colts also waived first-year running back Justise Hairston (Central Connecticut State), rookie defensive tackle Dan Davis (Connecticut), first-year center Pat Ross (Boston College) and first-year kicker Shane Andrus (Murray State).
The NFL this past offseason passed a rule mandating that teams cannot take more than 80 players to training camp. In previous offseasons, roster exemptions have allowed teams to take between 85-90 players to camp in some instances.
The Colts will reto training camp at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Ind., on Thursday, July 24.
They must reduce the roster to 75 players by August 26, then to 53 players by August 30.